


How Scott and Cassie Lang Spent Christmas

by IsabellaJack



Series: Scott Lang and the Gang [11]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Presents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-09 07:34:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8881528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsabellaJack/pseuds/IsabellaJack
Summary: "Wake up! Jesus Christ, how are you a heavy sleeper? How are you a superhero?" The voice hisses.In his fogged up brain, Scott can't pinpoint where he had heard the voice.But he knows it. Knows it very well.





	1. Chapter 1

 

In his boring dream, Scott feels a jabbing pain in his side that is coming out of nowhere.

He ignores it the first few minutes...actually he doesn't know for how long, but it's annoying.

When it persists, he swats the spot there and his hand connects with something.

Then he hears a sound. A voice.

"Wake up! Jesus Christ, how are you a heavy sleeper? How are you a superhero?" The voice hisses.

In his fogged up brain, Scott can't pinpoint where he had heard the voice.

But he knows it. Knows it very well.

He swats with his hand again at the source and it connects with a metal piece this time.

Jerking back, Scott opens his eyes from the most amazing sleep and turns around only to see Bucky Barnes in his full Winter Soldier gear standing right over his head.

"AH," Scott screams and falls off the bed at the surprising ominous silhouette of the Soldier.

"Seriously?" Barnes shakes his head. "God, you should be ashamed of yourself."

Scott gets up and rubs at his side. "You had to use your metal hand?"

Barnes rolls his eyes. "Please. I wanted to flip the bed over you but _he_ stopped me from doing that."

Scott frowns and looks at the door to his room. The light in the hallway is the only thing illuminating the room. There, he finds Steve Rogers standing in his full Captain America gear with the shield at his foot. He's smiling apologetically.

Scott realizes that he's not surprised anymore by their random visits.

Steve waves his with his hand. "Hey, Scott."

"Hey." Scott thinks maybe this is the weirdest night ever or that his boring dream turned into a nightmare.

"Sorry about the intrusion," Steve starts. "But some guy here refused to wait." Steve gives his boyfriend a scolding look.

Barnes turns to Steve and throws his hands up in the air. "There's no time, okay? I told you."

"It's the middle of December!" Steve hisses.

"We got our own plans. This is our only window, Stevie!"

Steve rubs the area between his eyes in despair and Scott watches as Barnes turns back to him and glares.

"Now, the question here is why the fuck don't you have a tree, Lang?"

Scott runs his hands through his hair and then rubs the sleep from his eyes. "No, Barnes. The question here is why the fuck are you in my house? At this hour? I just saw you on Halloween. Was I supposed to expect you this soon?"

Then it's in that moment that Scott blinks twice and sees the medium-sized box in Barnes's hand. It's wrapped beautifully.

A Christmas present.

"Wait," Scott mutters. Then he looks at both of them before his eyes land back on Barnes. "Is that for me?"

"Like hell it is," Barnes scoffs.

"Bucky..." Steve says under his breath.

Barnes walks from behind the bed and strides toward Scott. He doesn't move because he knows the guy won't do anything to harm him. But Scott braces himself nonetheless.

"What gives you the idea that I'd gift you anything?" His metal finger is jabbing Scott in the chest.

Scott maintains an aura of indifference. "Duh. Because you like me."

And it's like Bucky just got a blow to the chest. "What?"

"Yeah. I mean...why would you wake me-"

"Steve, tell him I don't like him and I never will." Barnes sounds childish and it brings a smile to Scott's face.

They both turn to Steve who is leaning on the door, clearly tired of whatever mission they just came from. There's a cut on his forehead and Scott glances back quickly at Barnes who is sporting far more bruises on his face than Steve.

"You know I can't lie, Buck. You _do_ like the guy."

Barnes gasps and Scott smiles widely like it's really Christmas morning.

Pointing a finger at Steve, Barnes declares with a raised brow. "You're sleeping on the couch tonight."

"Wha...but..." Steve looks hurt. Really hurt.

Scott is past the point of ever allowing himself to be tangled in those two's problems. So, he decides to just end this because his bed looks inviting and he really needs to get them to leave.

_I need to sleep damn it!_

"Listen, Barnes. I don't have a tree for two reasons. One, it's not Christmas yet."

"See, Bucky. It's only you who thinks that."

Barnes glares at Steve. "On the couch...for two nights."

Steve jerks back in shock. "Bucky..."

Scott continues, "Two, Cassie always spends it with her mom so there's no point of having a tree here at my place."

That seems to catch Barnes and Steve off guard.

It gets awkwardly quiet all of a sudden.

"Don't you two...have joint custody?" Steve asks gently.

Scott scratches his arm, feeling uncomfortable. "She spends Christmas Eve and the morning after at her mom's. I get her at noon on Christmas day. "

Again, it's so quiet and awkward. He senses their eyes on him. The pity...

Nope, he can't have that.

He laughs nervously and puts his hands up. "Hey, listen guys. It's okay. It's been arranged like this for years. It's fine. Cool. I'm good."

Barnes tilts his head to the side, eyes examining him. Calculating.

Steve, on the other hand, has his head down. At least he has the decency to give Scott a moment.

“Listen, Barnes." Scott holds his hand out to him. "You can just leave her present here. I’ll give it to her.”

The way Barnes has transferred from a menacing Winter Soldier to a scared, vulnerable guy is fascinating and jarring that Scott drops his hand.

He shields the box by holding it close to his chest and shakes his head. “No, absolutely not.”

Scott sighs loudly. “What? Then why did you wake me up then? I need sleep Barnes.”

“I thought you had a tree,” he hisses.

Scott throws his hands in the air. “What does it matter? You were gonna leave it under the tree, so you might as well leave it with me.”

Barnes looks at the present in his hands and seems as if he's about to cry.

Scott certainly doesn’t want a weeping lethal assassin in his bedroom. He's going to change the subject. “What did you get her anyway?”

Barnes huffs. “Like I’d tell ya.”

Scott crosses his arms over his chest. “Actually, I gotta know. Parenting 101.”

“That’s bullshit!”

“Bucky,” Steve interrupts. “He’s her father. Just tell him or I will.”

Barnes looks embarrassed all of a sudden. He looks at the wrapped box. “Uh...um...It’s a book.”

Then he looks up at Scott and there's a murderous look on his face. “Happy?”

Scott is relieved. He wanted to know what it was to make sure that Cassie would love the gift. Not that she wouldn't be with whatever she gets from Barnes. Still...He lets out a breath of relief.

But he can't help himself. “What kind of book?”

“Seriously? Your daughter is thirteen!”

“Exactly.”

“Fine. It’s _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_.”

“Oh,” Scott replies softly. Cassie has already read it but he has no intention of telling Barnes that. He can’t hurt the guy.

But it’s Barnes. The Winter Soldier. So, he noticed.

“What?” His gaze is inquisitive.

Scott gulps. “Nothing. I think it’s a good book. I don’t know. I didn’t read it. But I'm sure it is since you picked it out.”

“She read it, didn’t she?” Barnes asks calmly.

It’s strange because Scott thought he’d be upset and throw the book away. Probably in Scott's face. Literally.

“Don’t lie, Scott Lang. Do I have to remind you that I worked for Hydra for decades-”

“Fine. Yes, she did.”

Barnes clears his throat. “Did she love it?”

“You know she did. She’s a potter fan.”

“Potterhead, you ignorant fool.”

“I’m sorry…?”

“Buck…”

“Well, Lang." Barnes throws the book in the air and catches it with his metal hand. He smirks. "She’s gonna love mine. You know why?”

Scott shakes his head and looks at Steve for hints but Cap just smirks his way.

 _These two so deserve each other, I swear to God_.

“She’s gonna love it because it’s the original screenplay _and_ it's signed by J.K. Rowling herself.” Barnes wiggles his brows at him.

Scott's eyes popped out of his head. “WHAT?"

Both soldiers nods his way in confirmation. Scott closes his eyes and looks up. "Please tell me you didn't terrorize the poor woman. Please."

Barnes chuckles. "She's so not poor."

“Pepper was kind enough to help with that,” Steve explains.

Scott opens his eyes. "Pepper?"

The name sounds familiar but he's not sure who she is. He'll ask Hope later.

Barnes raises his brow. “Another amazing woman who is stuck with an idiot.”

Rolling his eyes, Scott says, “Just so you know, Hope came on to me.”

The digital clock he has on his nightstand reminds him of the late hour. It's 3:00 a.m. He really wants to go back to sleep.

So, he walks up to Barnes and sacrifices his hand as he touches the soldier’s shoulder. Luckily, Barnes doesn’t flinch or move.

“Thank you. I’ll make sure it reaches her. I can even make sure she gets it on Christmas morning while she’s at her mom’s-“

“No! I’ll figure something out.”

"Barnes," Scott sighs. "What are you gonna do? Sneak into her mom's house?"

Barnes looks insulted. Shaking his head so hard, he says through gritted teeth, "I'll figure out a better way."

He dashes out of the room but returns and points at Steve. "Three nights."

"I didn't say anything!" Steve almost shrieks.

Scott can't believe that voice just came out of Captain America.

They both flinch as they hear the loud slam of the apartment's door.

Scott watches as Steve picks up his shield and runs his other hand over his face. He really seems tired.

"I'm sorry about that."

Scott smiles. "It's fine. I expected his visit to be honest, but not tonight though. It's still too early for Christmas."

"Right?!"

Both of them chuckle and then Scott points at where Barnes was standing. "Sorry about..."

Steve looks confused and Scott really doesn't want to elaborate.

He sighs and adds, "The sleeping on the couch thing."

Steve huffs a laugh. "Oh, don't worry. Bucky's bluffing. I know him well. He'll crack. He's impatient when it comes to..." And then his face reddens at what he almost said.

Scott wants to die and then kill himself. The two soldiers having sex is so not what he wants to picture right now.

He raises his hands up. "Got it. Just go."

"Right."

Steve runs out of the room and it's quiet again.

Scott looks around and then walks to his bed. He plants face down, hoping that sleep would come back.

Strangely, it did.

And he ends up dreaming of a big Christmas tree in his humble-sized apartment.

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

It's late Christmas Eve and Scott is dragging his feet up the stairs.

Of all the days, this is the moment the elevators decided to stop working.

He sighs and rubs his eyes. He spent his night with Hope and Hank. It was nice. Hank decided, in the spirit of Christmas, to share some wonderful memories of his days as the original Ant-Man.

They all exchanged gifts. Scott declared that his gift to Hank is himself and being the boyfriend of his daughter. It was a joke but Hank did _not_ like it at all. Neither did Hope.

His side is still sore where she punched him.

After clearing up the misunderstanding, he gave Hank a wool scarf and Hope pearl earrings. In return, Hank gave him a book while Hope winked his way and gave him a vintage pocket knife with his initials on it.

"In honor of your prison days," she'd said, smirking.

"Ha...ha..."

He pretended to be upset but he fell in love with it instantly to be honest.

 

Reaching his door, and sighing loudly, he checks his pocket. The knife is still there.

He chuckles softly and pulls his keys out of his other pocket. Opening the door, he steps inside and closes the door behind him, darkness engulfing him.

Something feels different.

When he switches on the lights, he freezes in his spot. His heart stops and his breath catches.

There, in the corner of his living room, is a tree.

A Christmas tree.

The biggest tree he's ever seen. It's nothing compared to that of his ex.

It's decorated with all kinds of ornaments from top to bottom.

_Beautiful._

It's the only word that he can come up with.

"Wow..." He breathes.

Then he snaps out of his reverie because... _What the hell? Who did this?_

He walks carefully to the said tree and notices two envelopes hanging there.

Scott has a slight idea of who's behind all of this but still...

He picks the envelope addressed to him.

 

_~~Dear~~ Scott,_

_Do you know how hard it was to find a nice spot in your tiny apartment?_

_Anyway, here's our Christmas present to you and your amazingly talented and precious daughter. (Still can't believe she's yours. I gotta ask Banner about genetics.)_

_Under the tree, you'll find my gift to Cassie. Please, for the love of God, tell her it's from me and not Santa! She's 13, Scott. She knows! Don't be an idiot._

_Steve got a gift for you and Cassie. It's down there too._

_~~No one~~... ~~It doesn't~~...Even if she was spending the Eve and the morning with her mom and step-dad...That doesn't mean you can't have your own Christmas with her. _

_Barnes._

_Merry Christmas, Scott. <\--- Stevie wrote this. NOT ME!_

 

Scott feels tears brimming his eyes. He sniffles and laughs at himself. When he goes to put the letter back in the envelope, he notices another thing inside.

It's a photo. A Polaroid photo.

It's the two super soldiers standing in front of this same tree. Inside his apartment. It's a selfie since their faces are too close to the lens. Barnes is making a monkey face while Steve is rolling his eyes at his boyfriend.

"When did I get so lucky?" Scott asks himself.

 

~~~

 

As soon as Scott gets Cassie inside his place the next day in the afternoon, he covers his ears as a result of her scream.

She turns around and hugs him tight. "Oh my God, Dad! It's so pretty."

He closes the door and almost staggers his way inside since she's still clinging to his waist.

He chuckles. "Wish I had something to do with it."

Cassie frowns as she looks up and then at the tree. "What do you mean?"

He nods his head toward the tree and smiles tenderly. "Some friends left it here. For us."

She puts her backpack on the couch and walks slowly to the huge tree. She picks the envelope hung there and opens it.

A gasp leaves her mouth and she looks up at her dad. "For real?"

"I'm afraid so, Peanut."

He goes and stands next to her, hand on her shoulder as he reads the letter with her.

 

_My queen Cassie,_

_I hope you're having a very merry Christmas._

_This tree is yours and your father's too. You deserve to celebrate twice!_

_I got you something. It's under the tree. Make sure your silly dad doesn't get his hands on it. It's precious. Just like you!_

_Wish I could stop by during this holiday but Steve and I have our own party to plan. With other unwanted guest stopping by ALL THE TIME! Urgh! (Can't wait for them to leave us alone. Don't tell Steve I said this. He'll give me a long lecture about hospitality.)_

_Anyway, I really hope you love my Christmas present to you. Steve also sent his. It's for you and your father._

_Your devoted servant,_

_Bucky_

 

She holds the letter to her heart and then Scott shows her the photo of Barnes and Steve. She giggles and goes to put it on the fridge.

"You are not gonna take it down, Dad!"

Scott raises his hands up. "Not gonna do that, Peanut."

He awaits as she gets the presents from down there. She sits, crossing her legs under her, and Scott joins her there on the soft carpet.

She's about to open hers from Barnes but looks up at him.

He frowns. "What's up?"

"Let's open ours, yeah?"

"Sure."

They open the one from Steve, addressed: _Scott & Cassie Lang_

She gasps and he freezes again.

It's a pencil sketch of them. Him and Cassie laughing while she's on his lap.

It's impeccable. It's also impressive that Steve was able to do that out of memory and sheer imagination.

She throws away the wrapping paper and lifts the framed sketch up. "Now this is never to be taken down."

Scott wholeheartedly agrees. "I'm nailing it to the wall in few minutes."

He gets his phone camera ready when she's unwrapping Barnes's present for her. Scott's heart is beating fast since he already knows what it is.

Cassie gasps softly as she finds the book.

"Dad...this is...wait, is this the screenplay?" She asks softly, still in shock.

"Yeah. Open it," he directs her as he pulls away for a better angle for the video.

As soon as she sees the inscription and the signature of J.K.Rowling, she lets out a shrilling scream.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" She screams to the screen and gets up.

Scott falls sideways but doesn't stop recording. He laughs as he witnesses his daughter running around the apartment and screaming at the top of her lungs for solid five minutes.

Non-stop!

She falls on Scott and he stops the video as he giggles. "Peanut, careful."

"I gotta call my friends! I gotta post this on Instagram!" Then she deflates. "Oh wait, who should I say it's from?"

He fixes her wild strands behind her ears. "Just say it's from a family friend. A dear family friend."

A wide smile decorates her face and she runs to her room, letter and book clutched to her chest. She turns when she's in the hall. "I gotta write him back, Dad!"

"Okay."

Scott saves the video and sends it to Steve since it's the only number he has to reach Barnes because the latter never gave him his.

 

Twenty minutes later, and while Scott is nailing the framed sketch on the wall, his phone vibrates.

It's a text from a number.

He smiles as he reads it.

 

**This was my favorite Christmas present this year!**

**< 3 (This heart is for Cassie, not you)**

**Barnes.**

**P.s. This is my number. But don't use it.**

 

Scott chuckles and saves the number under Barnes and stands back from the wall.

Looking at the tree, the presents, the sketch on the wall and his daughter lying on her stomach reading the book Barnes got her...Scott sighs and thinks it's his favorite Christmas so far.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading.  
> Kudos and comments are LOVE.


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